Occidental Grand Punta Cana

has anyone gotten or getting married in occidental? Planning to go on vaca there this May to decide wether or not it's the right place. While i'm there i'm also going to see the paradisus punta cana. i figure i have something to compare occidental to. Thanks ladies

I have not seen their wedding set up, but the resort IMO is ok. It's moderate. Nothing fancy. It's large and spread out. It tends to cater to a more european clientele as we saw with the food/entertainment and intereacting with the other guests (which was limited b/c noone spoke english). Pretty quiet after the nightly show each night. People just tend to hang around in the lobby playing cards etc. Prices well but for a reason. And it doesn't really compare to the Paradisus which you'll see. In two different leagues.

I have not seen their wedding set up, but the resort IMO is ok. It's moderate. Nothing fancy. It's large and spread out. It tends to cater to a more european clientele as we saw with the food/entertainment and intereacting with the other guests (which was limited b/c noone spoke english). Pretty quiet after the nightly show each night. People just tend to hang around in the lobby playing cards etc. Prices well but for a reason. And it doesn't really compare to the Paradisus which you'll see. In two different leagues.

Thanks for the feedback, but this is disappointing since I'm already booked. I did hear from another bride that mentioned if you wanted small and quaint this would be a good place. I also understand they just went renovations.

I loved Paradisus but did think it would be a challenge for my guest. Which is more important when on a budget.

But the biggest question I have is you said they were reasonably priced for a reason. from your comment do you mean because the limited English or the limited entertainment. Please expand.

I absolutely understand about budget and the Paradisus, and would say the same for them, they are more expensive and for a reason. Better accomodations, food, service etc. Not that Occi is bad, but when comparing the two against each other, there really isn't a comparison.

I do not agree that the Occi is small or quaint. With over 800 rooms I found it rather large and spread out (not as bad as say the Grand Bahia, but still big). All bldgs are 3 floors w/o elevators (keep in mind for older guests). I stayed in the Royal Club Lux OV and was slightly disappointed. Not all that different than the regular rooms, and I searched, I saw no ocean anywhere. Bathroom flooded everyday. And my biggest actual complaint was the fact that our neighbors (other TA's) checked in the same time we did & checked out shortly after (they hated the place). They didn't shut their door all the way upon leaving (oh yea, the doors didn't shut properly either) & their door remained opened for 3 more days. No housekeeping staff or anyone ever thought to maybe shut it? We actually roamed into it one day to take some pics to see if each room was like ours (& they were). The rooms are exactly as they appear on the Occi website. So what you see there is exactly what you will get (not that that's bad, I'm just saying sometimes pics aren't truely showing everything. those pics are good, as that's what the rooms look like).

My other issues with this resort was the food and the language barrier. Nowadays throughout the DR the language issue isn't really an issue anymore. But it seemed at this place we were 2 of a handful that spoke English. A fluke? Maybe. But when I sell this resort it's something I bring up just in case it wasn't a fluke. As for dining we ate 2 nts at the Royal Club restaurant which 2 tables inside were raving about the food. I'm a picky eater so I am no judge (no comments from you TAJen ), my BF is not (he'll at least try everything), and we both left hungry. However...in the buffet people had their plates piled high with food. So it must not have been bad, but we had no idea what 3/4 of the stuff was (european, south american?? i'm not sure). And noone spoke english so we couldn't ask. That said, food is very subjective. What one person hates another could love. My point here is that we didn't even know what the food was....

Entertainment is what you make it. We had fun just hanging in the lobby. But it was quiet.

Is it awful and would I not sell it? No, absolutely not. But I do share my experience with my clients because these were typical issues of DR long ago. I was kind of suprised to experience it again. I'm sure for the wedding groups they will be falling all over you making your stay extra special anyway so I would'nt worry.

I can say that I have been there about 3 years ago and just loved it. The people there were one of the reasons why we had such a good time, really open to having a fun time! We didn't have a problem with the language barrier, we didn't expect much from the staff as English is not their first language. Also I wouldn't say the location is overly large, we have been to bigger and didn't find the occidental exhausing to walk around or anything like that. We saw 2 weddings when we were there but they were very very small, just bride and groom, and it seemed like they had it in a very public place with not much privacy. We also liked the food and never really had a complaint, it had its busy moments and was frustrating when some people from other countries would cut in line with no disregard to you, but what do you do, your on vacation.

Some flaws but despite that we had a great time at this location! Good luck with everything! Its so hard to make a decision!